Predicting the weather in Ohio more than five minutes out is risky business, especially during the winter. From this distance, though, the four-day muzzleloader season is shaping up to be something the deer hunter might order.

Little rain, a smattering of snow and seasonal to slightly below temperatures are forecast for the coming week. With a leftover blanket of snow covering much of the state, hunters shouldn’t have too tough of a time spotting deer against a white backdrop.

And vice versa, it should be mentioned. Sighting a whitetail and getting close enough to get off a responsible shot are different matters, but serious deer hunters know their limits, as well as the limits of their gun.

The last of the deer hunts involving firearms commences one-half hour before sunrise on Saturday and ends at sunset Jan. 8. Bow season will continue through Feb. 3.

The state’s deer kill through Christmas Day stood at 188,491, down about 2 percent from the 192,050 taken during the same period in 2011. A total of 19,251 deer were reported during last year’s muzzleloader hunt.

Hunters can donate extra venison to organizations assisting Ohioans in need. The Ohio Division of Wildlife is working with Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry to help pay for the processing of donated venison. For details about the program and contact information, visit the website fhfh.org.

Poachers pay

Three out-of-state residents, one from Louisiana and two from Mississippi, were sentenced this month to a total of 570 days of suspended jail time and ordered to pay more than $10,500 in restitution, fines, court fees and other costs for deer-hunting violations in Brown County.

The judge suspended the men’s hunting licenses for periods ranging from one to five years. Also forfeited were three rifles: a .243, a .30-06 and a .270.

Violations included hunting deer with a rifle, spotlighting, shooting deer from a motor vehicle and failure to tag deer.

Caleb Skelton, 32 of Wiggins, Miss., killed two bucks — one that scored 1445/8 and the other 142. Hunters cannot take more than a single buck during an Ohio deer hunting year. Robert B. Lins, 47, of Lucedale, Miss., illegally killed one buck that scored 1293/8.

Parting shots

The Great Ohio Rabbit Hunt, an event for archers held every other year near Centerburg, is scheduled Feb. 23-24. For details and contact information, see the website greatohiorabbithunt.net. … Pheasant season concludes Jan. 6. … Wednesday is the last day to legally hunt mourning doves, and Friday is the final day to hunt snipe. … The last day for hunting ducks in the North Zone, which includes a good chunk of central Ohio, is Jan. 6.